One of the Keith’s Closets which will also soon open in Shellharbour. Photo: Supplied.
Mental health nurse Keith Donnelly is bringing his innovative initiative, Keith’s Closet, to Shellharbour Hospital, transforming unused hospital spaces into welcoming walk-in wardrobes stocked with clothing and essentials for patients in need.
As the project prepares to launch, Keith is calling on volunteers — especially tradespeople — to help bring the vision to life.
Keith, who has worked in the mental health field since 2002, first launched the not-for-profit Keith’s Closet in 2019 at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney as a way to provide dignity to those living with mental health issues.
He said the program transformed unused hospital spaces like seclusion rooms into walk-in wardrobe stores where patients choose new and high-end secondhand clothes, undergarments, and other necessities for free through a personalised shopping experience.
As a mental health nurse back home in Ireland, he regularly saw patients arrive at the ward with little more than the clothes on their back and no family support to run a suitcase in for them.
“I was really surprised when I came to Australia that the issue was much the same here as well,” he said.
“Many are living off social welfare, which is not a lot of money, so that’s going to be a struggle, as well as battling severe or acute mental illness.
“If anyone arrived with nothing, they had one of two options – either get a hospital gown, which stigmatises people, or staff would be scrambling around the place to find something that’s maybe a little bit better than what they had on.
“Most of the time, it wouldn’t be.”
However, he said he was fortunate to join the team at Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick, which was big on innovation and encouraged staff to explore new ideas.
Keith said at the time, the hospital had one of the highest numbers of seclusions in NSW, where patients were placed in padded seclusion rooms for their own safety.
He said to reduce this, they worked to educate staff and build rapport with patients to catch early warning signs of anxiety or anger before things occurred or escalated.
“As a result of all this work we were doing, all of a sudden our seclusion rates were dropping dramatically,” he said.
“My manager said to me, ‘I know you’re looking for a room, how about the seclusion room?’
“I thought, that’s absolutely perfect.”
Keith said after explaining the project to businesses such as Bunnings Warehouse and others, they donated staff and goods to help convert an unused seclusion room into a warm, inviting space stocked with donated clothing and essentials.
“Before I knew it, I had this empty room that all of a sudden looked like something you’d see on High Street,” he said.
“We all have ideas and dreams and this is my absolute passion, so to see it actually being opened in 2019 it blew a lot of people away, including myself.”
He said the program had since grown to include a mobile wardrobe, opening of the second location at St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst, and a warehouse not only for housing stock but for patients to either volunteer or to run educational workshops from.
“It’s great to get a nice outfit and new clothes, but it kind of wears off after a very short space of time,” he said.
“So we were thinking, how can we make it longer lasting for our patients so the return to hospital isn’t so regular?”
Last year he met with NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park, who not only awarded $185,000 for the project, but encouraged him to look at Shellharbour as one of the next locations.
Keith said they were now calling on the Shellharbour community to get involved, whether through monetary donations, maintaining the wardrobe, or volunteering their time and skills to help set up the new wardrobe space before its opening in a few weeks’ time.
He said he envisioned the Shellharbour location as a hub for workshops through to building connections within the mental health community.
“We’re very mindful that we want to open them up and have them managed very well by like-minded folks like ourselves,” he said.
“So for many of our patients going in there, it’s like a one-on-one shopping experience with a staff member.
“And it’s a time to build really great rapport as well – you talk about anything and everything except why they’re in there.
“It’s not about the mental illness. You’re treating them like a human being.”
He said through the closet, they were able to give patients back their dignity and self-esteem.
“We’re looking after these guys and girls when they’re at their absolute worst,” he said.
“The really don’t forget it and they really appreciate having access to the absolute basic essentials, such as new underwear.”
He said since the charity was established, it had also supported disaster zones, including during bushfires at Cobargo and floods at Lismore.
Keith’s Closet in Shellharbour is expected to open its doors within the next few weeks, with plans to expand to other hospitals such as Wollongong Hospital in the future.
He’s also looking to work with the architect for the new Shellharbour Hospital, with a goal that a Keith’s Closet will go into future hospital designs.
Learn more about Keith’s Closet or get in contact to provide support.
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